The fans were back...and so were the wins.

Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time this season, the New York University Women's Soccer Team defeated Swarthmore College 2-1 on Friday, September 10, and evened its 2021 record at 1-1.

"It was so great. We played the first game without fans and it was just too quiet," said one of the team's seniors, Rachel O'Keefe (Shrewsbury, MA/Worcester Academy). "It was nice to have the fans behind us and some of our families here."

After dropping its season opener 1-0 to Vassar College last Saturday at a fan-less Gaelic Park, the Violets rose to the occasion on Friday in the first game in which spectators were permitted to attend. 

"It was great to get the first win of the year and to have our fans back supporting the players," said Head Coach Michele Canning. "We produced a really quality performance, both attacking and defending."

NYU opened the scoring at 34:32, the squad's first tally of the season. After a shot from Sydney Jo Presnell (San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo) got past Garnet keeper Chantal Reyes and was tipped out by a defender, Sam March (Glastonbury, CT/Kingswood Oxford School) tapped it into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.

Swarthmore (1-1) tied the game early in the second half (48:21) when Kim Kockenmeister scored unassisted from 20 feet out.

The Violets responded quickly, taking the lead just seven minutes later. Gabriella Funk (Fremont, CA/Irvington) sent a long through ball to Spritle Hirano (Seattle, WA/West Seattle) who lofted it over Swarthmore keeper Nora Greer, who had replaced Reyes to start the second half.

The game-winner came at 55:23.

"I didn't have to think at all. 'G' knew exactly where I was going," Hirano said. "We just had conviction and I just chipped it in. The energy was there all week and we were ready for this game."

The Violets return to the pitch on Sunday, when they face The College of New Jersey. The game is being held at Stevens in Hoboken, NJ, with kickoff set for 3:00pm.